Klamath Tribal member Kayce Womack honored by Klamath County DA; displays her poem in courthouse

On May 3, the Klamath Tribes held a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day gathering at the Klamath Tribes Fitness Center in Chiloquin; the initial presidential proclamation was issued three years prior in 2021. Indigenous spoken word poet and member of the Klamath Tribes, Shuína Skó, performed their poem titled “No More Goodbyes” to close the gathering. The Klamath County District Attorney David Schutt expressed his appreciation to Shuína Skó after the performance and desire to have the poem displayed at the Klamath County Courthouse. On July 9, Schutt presented Shuína Skó with a framed poster of the “No More Goodbyes” poem, which is identical to the piece now being displayed in the courthouse.

Here is Shuina Sko’s poem:

No More Goodbyes

if we target the violent 

then the violence will cease

but if we only focus on victims

then the vultures will stay circling 

circling our women

circling our children

circling our Two-Spirit relations

salivating with greed

blood dripping from fingers

lies braided into every other word they speak

they be bad Spirits dressed as sheep

my relative, notice your intuition 

then follow where it guides

this is our internal medicine 

sensing sickness that hides from our eyes

this sickness needs to die

our women, children, and Two-Spirit need to survive 

and we need to fight

so we as a people who make up 

beautiful, peaceful, and powerful Nations

can heal, practice our ways, and thrive

stand up

show up

speak up

for the ones we have yet to find

and bodies who’ve returned to Mother

let’s move forward with fists raised high

no more missing

no more murdered

no more goodbyes